The 1955 Tour de France was the 42nd edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 7 to 30 July. It consisted of 22 stages over . The race was won by Louison Bobet, the last of his three consecutive wins. Teams As was the custom since the 1930 Tour de France, the 1955 Tour de France was contested by national and regional teams. Eight national teams were sent, with 10 cyclists each from France, Belgium, Spain, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, and a mixed team consisting of Luxembourgian, Austrian, West German and Australian cyclists. France additionally sent five regional teams from 10 cyclists each, divided into Île-de-France, North-East/Centre, West, South-East and South-West. In total, 120 cyclists started the race. The mixed team included cyclists from West-Germany, which was the first time since the Second World War that German cyclists rode the Tour. The Great Britain team was the first British team in Tour history. The teams entering the race were: France Belgium Spain Great Britain Netherlands Italy Luxembourg/Mixed Switzerland Île-de-France North-East/Centre West South-East South-West Pre-race favourites Louison Bobet, the winner of the 1953 Tour de France and the 1954 Tour de France, had done an aggressive preparation in the early season before the Tour de France, aiming for his third victory. Bobet was the main favourite, also because he was the world champion. Route and stages The 1955 Tour de France started on 7 July, and had two rest days, in Monaco and Ax-les-Thermes. The 1955 Tour saw the introduction of the photo finish. The highest point of elevation in the race was at the summit tunnel of the Col du Galibier mountain pass on stage 8. Race overview The first part of the first stage was won by Miguel Poblet, who became the first Spanish cyclist to wear the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification. The second and third stage saw small groups escaping from the peloton. In both stages, Wout Wagtmans and Antonin Rolland, one of Bobet's teammates, were present. Wagtmans became leader of the general classification, with Rolland in second place. The first attack that was important for the general classification was in the fourth stage. Rolland was part of a group of nine cyclists that finished seven minutes before the rest. Rolland was the best-placed cyclist of those nine, and took the lead. In the seventh stage, Rolland briefly lost that